What Killed Arafat?

It was a scene that riveted the world for weeks: The ailing Yasser Arafat, first besieged by Israeli tanks in his Ramallah compound, then shuttled to Paris, where he spent his final days undergoing a barrage of medical tests in a French military hospital.

Eight years after his death, it remains a mystery exactly what killed the longtime Palestinian leader. Tests conducted in Paris found no obvious traces of poison in Arafat’s system. Rumors abound about what might have killed him – cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, even allegations that he was infected with HIV.

A nine-month investigation by Al Jazeera has revealed that none of those rumors were true: Arafat was in good health until he suddenly fell ill on October 12, 2004.

Tests have revealed that Arafat’s final personal belongings – his clothes, his toothbrush, even his iconic kaffiyeh – contained abnormal levels of polonium, a rare, highly radioactive element. Those personal effects, which were analysed at the Institut de Radiophysique in Lausanne, Switzerland, were variously stained with Arafat’s blood, sweat, saliva and urine. The tests carried out on those samples suggested that there was a high level of polonium inside his body when he died.

The findings have led Suha Arafat, his widow, to ask the Palestinian Authority to exhume her late husband’s body from its grave in Ramallah.

But a conclusive finding that Arafat was poisoned with polonium would not explain who killed him. It is a difficult element to produce, though – it requires a nuclear reactor – and the signature of the polonium in Arafat’s bones could provide some insight about its origin.

Wouldn't surprise me one bit. I don't have time to watch the documentary at the moment. When I get a chance I'll comment. From the looks of it, even if Yasser Arafat's body has extremely high levels of polonium nothing will be done. (Aside from ramped up attacks in the region) There is enough plausible deniability that both Israel and the United States will issue press releases condemning (if they don't call the report absurd) the poisoning and that will be enough for the MSM leeches. Story will die down in a couple of months, and all that will be left to report on will be the continuance of suicide bombings that the MSM will construe as being unwarranted. Indeed, I believe they will use these events to call for more aid to Israel and an increased presence in the region. McCain being the first to do so.

“The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.” --George Orwell

Originally Posted by AuH20

In terms of a full spectrum candidate, Rand is leaps and bounds above Trump. I'm not disputing that.

Who else in public life has called for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea?--Donald Trump

Yeah go ahead and watch it when you get time it's real interesting. Here's what Paul said about Hamas:

I truly think Israel wanted to eliminate as much as possible the possibility of a permanent two-state solution, Arafat got a lot of flack for cooperating in peace agreements, interesting to note that Israel may have been the maddest of all! If they could transition to a less cooperative enemy, one which didn't even recognize Israel then they would't have to enter into negotiations with them and could slowly marginalize the Palestinians as is happening now.

That's why I feel strongly about this, if Arafat was killed by the Mossad, it's undeniable proof that Israel will never cooperate for peace. Watching this on the MSM was frustrating though, lol they even put forth the possibility that another Palestinian did it LOL!! But maybe people will open their eyes to what Israel does so that our politics aren't so damn reliant on them.

Lol that's the point. The PLO were getting a lot of political sway because of their secular stance. Do you really think Israel wants a two-state solution? Or even give the Palestinians their little archipelago-like settlements?

The PLO was no longer considered a terrorist organization, therefore Israel couldn't combat them openly. Hamas however is still considered a terrorist organization so now, who can blame poor Israel for fighting the war on terror?

Israel does not want a two state solution, or give more settlements, or work with the Palestinians, they want Israel all to themselves and more, they've been hogging the damn water supply of the region for decades, why do you think they hold the Golan Heights?

A Swiss doctor said Wednesday they found high levels of toxic polonium-210 on some of Arafat's belongings, though it does not mean he suffered radiation poisoning.

"We have evidence there is too much polonium, but we also have hints from the medical records that this may not be the case," said Francois Bochud, director of the Institut de Radiophysique in Lausanne, Switzerland. "The only way to resolve this anomaly would be by testing the body."

Suha Arafat said she had not made an official request to the Palestinian Authority for exhumation because no official request is needed. The Palestinian Authority said Wednesday that it would not object to exhuming the body from its tomb if Arafat's family approves.

Arafat belongings test high for radioactivity, scientist says

If it turns out that Arafat, who died in 2004, was poisoned, "Any result will be significant for us to help know the truth," said Suha Arafat, the former leader's widow. "It is a form of closure for our family. Closing one wound but opening a new one, wondering who is responsible."

Bochud's research team tested Arafat's toothbrush, clothing and keffiyeh, the trademark black-and-white headscarf he often wore, Bochud said.

But getting data from items like clothing "is really tricky business," said Cham Dallas, a professor and toxicologist at the University of Georgia's Institute for Health Management and Mass Destruction Defense.

"We don't have enough information to make any definitive statement, but it does seem a bit of a stretch" to conclude that Arafat was poisoned by polonium-210, he told CNN in a telephone interview.

Dallas questioned how much confidence the Swiss scientists could have in their measurements and said he was looking forward to results from tests carried out on the body after it is exhumed.

"I'd have a lot more confidence if you could give me a bone sample," he told CNN in a telephone interview. He cited compartments inside the bone as particularly telling. "There's old bone and then there's new bone," he said. "If you're sampling, it would come out very differently."

They also took urine samples from his underwear, and there was also a blood stain from the cap he wore in the hospital, all high levels of polonium

A sample of urine-stained underwear showed polonium-210 radioactivity of 180 millibecquerels (mBq) — roughly one radioactive decay every 5 seconds. A control sample had a radioactivity of about 10 mBq. Bochud says that naturally occurring polonium-210 — resulting from the decay of radon gas, for example — normally causes a radioactivity of about 5 mBq per litre of urine.

Polonium-210 has a half-life of about 138 days, so about 20 half-lives had passed between Arafat’s death and the testing in Lausanne. This means that the amount of polonium in the samples — and in Arafat’s body — would have been about a million times greater when he died. Bochud and his colleagues calculated that Arafat would have had similar levels of polonium-210 in his body as Litvinenko.

Maaaaaybe, but the Syrians damn near went to war with Jordan after black september, because Jordan waged war against the PLO. (read about it here) so AFAIK Syria was on the PLOs side as well as Russia.

If you watch the Al Jazeera program (which I know ALJ has it's own bias), they demonstrate how Israel started threatening Arafats life, so we have reason to believe they kept to their promise. Not to mention it wouldn't be the first time they tried poisoning someone.

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has given final approval to dig up Yasser Arafat’s remains and is also pressing for an international investigation of his predecessor’s mysterious 2004 death, a top aide said Monday.

The decision came days after a Swiss lab detected elevated traces of a lethal radioactive agent on clothing said to be Arafat’s.

Testing Arafat’s bones could offer the last chance to get to the bottom of Palestinian claims that their leader was poisoned, though some experts cautioned it may already be too late for conclusive answers.

Several Palestinian officials have charged that Israel poisoned Arafat. The French doctors who treated Arafat in his final days did not present a clear cause of death, while Israel emphatically denied it killed the Palestinian leader.

Arafat, who died at age 75, is buried in a mausoleum in the walled government compound in the West Bank where he spent the last three years of his life under Israeli siege.

Scenes of heavy machinery tearing into the wreath-covered grave of the revered leader could prove offensive to devout Muslims. Also, the grave has become a must-see site for Palestinian and foreign visitors to Ramallah.

Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said Monday that the need to know overrides cultural sensibilities. “We are seeking the truth, and every single Palestinian is seeking the truth, and we cannot reach the truth without it (exhuming the remains),” Erekat told The Associated Press.

Switzerland’s Institute of Radiation Physics detected elevated traces of polonium-210 — a rare and highly lethal substance — on Arafat’s belongings, but said the findings were inconclusive and that Arafat’s bones would have to be tested to get a clearer answer.

Mrs. Arafat, who has lived abroad since before her husband’s death and remains a contentious figure in the Palestinian territories, demanded that Arafat’s body be exhumed. Palestinian officials have said privately they were blindsided by the Al-Jazeera report and the widow’s request for an autopsy. After Arafat’s death, she had blocked requests for a post-mortem examination.

However, testing the bones may not provide clear answer. Polonium-210 decays rapidly, and experts have been divided over whether Arafat’s remains would provide a solid clue eight years after his death.

Less than 1 gram (0.035 ounces) of the silver powder is enough to kill. Polonium’s most famous victim was KGB agent-turned-Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London in 2006 after the substance was slipped into his tea.

Someone poisoned by polonium would experience multiple organ failure as alpha radiation particles bombard the liver, kidneys and bone marrow from within. Litvinenko lost his hair and turned blue, symptoms not displayed by Arafat.

"I am so %^&*^ sick of this cult of Ron Paul. The Paulites. What is with these %^&*^ people? Why are there so many of them?" YouTube rant by "TheAmazingAtheist"

"We as a country have lost faith and confidence in freedom." -- Ron Paul

"It can be a challenge to follow the pronouncements of President Trump, as he often seems to change his position on any number of items from week to week, or from day to day, or even from minute to minute." -- Ron Paul

Originally Posted by Brian4Liberty

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. No need to make it a superhighway.

Originally Posted by osan

The only way I see Trump as likely to affect any real change would be through martial law, and that has zero chances of success without strong buy-in by the JCS at the very minimum.

I don't think Israel "created" Hamas. I think Israel "tolerated" Hamas because that distinction between "terrorist organization" and non-terrorist organization makes all the difference in Israel's offensive against the Palestinian people.

Ah. So you don't actually agree with the Ron Paul video you posted. Because at 1:28 he said "Hamas was really encouraged and started by Israel". That's much more than mere "toleration". As for Al Qaeda, the U.S. government has in effect admitted a role in its creation. When Condi Rice put up her website to "debunk" such claims, she sent readers to Peter Bergen's book "Holy War Inc" but she only selectively quoted it. Peter Bergen's point was that Al Qaeda was created using U.S. money funneled through Pakistan. So the U.S. was one step removed from its creation. It's like you paying me to hire a hitman and then claiming "But I didn't hire the hit man". I hope this truth can "make sense" to you. Oh, and have you had a chance to look at my WTC 7 freefall calculations yet? If you understand basic algebra they should "make sense" to you too.

Originally Posted by Muwahid

I don't think Israel "created" Hamas. I think Israel "tolerated" Hamas because that distinction between "terrorist organization" and non-terrorist organization makes all the difference in Israel's offensive against the Palestinian people.

"I am so %^&*^ sick of this cult of Ron Paul. The Paulites. What is with these %^&*^ people? Why are there so many of them?" YouTube rant by "TheAmazingAtheist"

"We as a country have lost faith and confidence in freedom." -- Ron Paul

"It can be a challenge to follow the pronouncements of President Trump, as he often seems to change his position on any number of items from week to week, or from day to day, or even from minute to minute." -- Ron Paul

Originally Posted by Brian4Liberty

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. No need to make it a superhighway.

Originally Posted by osan

The only way I see Trump as likely to affect any real change would be through martial law, and that has zero chances of success without strong buy-in by the JCS at the very minimum.

I don't think Israel "created" Hamas. I think Israel "tolerated" Hamas because that distinction between "terrorist organization" and non-terrorist organization makes all the difference in Israel's offensive against the Palestinian people.

I believe 100% that Hamas would not exist were it not for Israel's creation which was based in terror and theft, and then for their subsequent occupation of Gaza, along with their continued oppression of the Palestinians and attempts to thwart support for the PLO (through many routes).

Hamas is a product of Israel, every way you look at it.

Well, I got Rand started on his campaign (just search around here to see). I advised Thomas Massie before he ran for Congress. I am currently advising 2 liberty campaigns for the state legislature. I ran the war-room and won Minnesota for Ron Paul a few weeks back. There are other things I'm probably forgetting.